Manglaluru: The District Health and Family Welfare Department inaugurated the second phase of “Mission Indradhanush 2015”, at the Lady Goschen Hospital here, on October 7.

MP Nalin Kumar Kateel inaugurated the campaign Mission Indradhanush by lighting the traditional lamp along with other dignitaries on the dais.

Addressing the gathering, Nalin Kumar Kateel said, the government has taken initiative to ensure 100% immunization with all the necessary vaccines for children upto two years and for pregnant women. “In the state the mission has been launched under the able leadership of the Health and Family Welfare minister U T Khader.”

He further said that under Mission Indradhanush, all new born babies upto two years of age will be vaccinated. “In the district, instances of Malaria, dengue and chicken pox are high and in such a situation, the concerned authorities in the hospital should forget all their differences and work together to create awareness among the people. Internal fights should not affect the patients. The intention of the government is to make every new born child healthy and create a healthy society. The mission has been launched to accelerate the process of immunization and achieve full immunization coverage for all children in the country,” he added.

He further said that the mission has been strategically designed to achieving high quality routine immunization coverage while contributing to strengthening health systems that can be sustained over years to come. In the last few years, India’s full immunization coverage has increased only by 1% per year. He said that so far, only 65% immunization has been done. “We need to work towards making it 100%. In this regard, the Asha workers should visit every house and bring awareness among the people about how important immunization is for new born babies upto two years.”

MLC Ivan D’Souza said that the concerned authorities should work hand in hand to bring awareness among the people about Mission Indradhanush. “Asha workers should visit every house and also meet pregnant women to bring awareness about the facilities available for them. When a new baby is born, we need the baby to be healthy. Sometimes due to lack of medical facilities, the child is born with disabilities. We need to create a healthy society by availing the benefits of health schemes.”

He further said that doctors should give importance to humanity, they should avoid fighting among themselves in hospitals. “When they serve in a hospital, their goal should be to create a healthy society by following best practices in treating every patient in the hospital. The success of every government programme lies in the attitude and body language of the officers in the hospitals,” he said.

Five new born babies have been symbolically vaccinated by MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, DC Ibrahim and others on the occasion.